Food news antipasto

Interested in the juncture between cookbooks and history? A new publicly available searchable database called The Sifter might be right up your alley. The Sifter, conceived by food historian Barbara Wheaton, “is designed to be a tool to aid in finding, identifying and comparing historical and contemporary writing on food and related topics,” according to the site’s mission statement. Modeled after Wikipedia, the site has an advisory board of rotating members of the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery that oversees the effort.

We have yet another new food-centric television series to report. Hulu will premiere its original series Eater’s Guide to the World, a food-and-travel series produced by Eater and Vox Media Studios, late this fall. The show “will celebrate some of the world’s most storied culinary destinations” and is narrated by Emmy-nominated actress Maya Rudolph.

Every summer I look forward to eating fresh, ripe watermelon. I happily eat it plain, in this fantastic salad, or in a refreshing cocktail. I have purchased two watermelons this year so far, and the first was utter perfection. The second was lackluster. Before I buy another one, I’m going to refer to this article from Southern Living magazine featuring tips on picking the perfect watermelon. The tips include both visual and tactile clues.

The exodus at Bon Appetit continues following the controversy about alleged inequitable treatment of BIPOC employees. Eater reports that six members of the BA Test Kitchen team will no longer participate in videos following the parent company’s inadequate response to the treatment. The list of those departing the Test Kitchen includes Priya Krishna, Rick Martinez, Sohla El-Waylly, Gaby Melian, Molly Baz, and Carla Lalli Music. In a tweet, Music said “I have been supported and rewarded for my work. My BIPOC co-hosts were not. There’s no way I can go back to video amid all these failures.”

Google is helping to develop a new app that reads grocery labels for the blind. While some apps will scan bar codes and then provide product information, the new app is also being programmed to identify food by its label so viewing the bar code won’t be necessary. In addition the app can say aloud what food it thinks a person is holding based on its visual appearance.

Photo of Watermelon salad with feta and mint [Jacques Pépin] from Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2010